Moving data between your computer and an external drive takes time. With bigger data volumes, e.g. major backups, or real-time video editing, often too much time.

The biggest speed bottleneck is likely to be the physical interface to the disk, as anyone who's tried using USB 1.0/1.1, and then gone to USB 2 ("Hi-Speed") or to FireWire.(IEEE 1394), knows. SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Architecture),

or Firewire external hard drives. Of course, your computer needs to have a SATA port to do this.

If your computer doesn't already have one, but has room for a PCI card, you can install the 2-port Promise Technologies PCI-to-SATA host adapter card that's included in the Seagate eSATA box

(along with drivers and instructions).

If you can't do this, e.g. no PCI slots, machine too old, it's a notebook, not allowed to open the box, you can use a $30 USB2.0 to eSATA adapter

like Coolmax's ES-300 USB2.0 to eSATA Converter (http://www.coolmaxusa.com/productDetails.asp?item=ES-300&details=features&subcategory=converter&category=converter). (Bring the eSATA cable with you to make sure it will fit, some of the SATA adapters are for the drive cables, not this cable!)

The Promise PCI card originally sent with the eSATA didn't work, which led me to the USB adapter workaround, which worked perfectly. (A replacement PCI card -- and re-installing the drivers -- is working.)

Obviously, you won't get SATA speeds with the USB adapter. Copying 2.2GB of MP3 files through the SATA port took just 1 minute 35 seconds; using the USB

adapter to a USB port took 4 minutes 7 seconds.

You may want to pick up one of these USB/SATA adapters anyway, in case you

want to use the eSATA with a notebook or another desktop... or if you're

about to get a new computer, which will have SATA ports.

And if you get an eSATA RAID controller, you can do RAID with your eSATA.